UN Security Council Divided Over Pyongyang Sanction
By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
Following North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket on Sunday, the U.N. Security Council is scheduled to convene today to discuss countermeasures at Japan's request. North Korea fired a multistage rocket from a launch pad on its East Coast 15 seconds past 11:30 a.m., flying over Japanese territory.
An official with the Korean mission to the United Nations confirmed that the Japanese government asked the Mexican mission to call for an emergency meeting. Mexico is the council chair this month, according to the Associated Press.
Experts say that Japan's urgency in calling for the U.N. meeting underlines the gravity of the effects of the missile launch on Northeast Asian security.
However, 15 members of the U.N. Security Council are divided over the possible countermeasures for what most nations are denouncing as a "clear breach of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718." The North is prohibited from engaging in ballistic missile development under the resolution, adopted after its long-range missile and nuclear tests in 2006.
It is expected that the United States and Japan may call for a new resolution consisting of tougher measures, or push for the immediate implementation of the existing resolution.
Meanwhile, China and Russia are tilting toward a more cautious approach in opting for a warning statement by the chair of the U.N. Security Council. Both countries say that if the launch is indeed a satellite, as claimed by North Korea, it does not pose an "actual threat."
The U.N. Security Council will meet behind close doors and come up with a converging position on the degree of countermeasures.
Meanwhile, Korea does not plan to immediately place sanctions on joint economic projects with North Korea, a spokeswoman with the Unification Ministry said on Sunday.
While the international community is divided over countermeasures, it was nevertheless unanimous in calling it a ``provocative act.''
U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday denounced North Korea for launching a Taepodong-2 missile in violation of a U.N. resolution and pledged to bring the issue to the U.N. Security Council for possible additional sanctions. ``The United States will take appropriate steps to let North Korea know that it cannot threaten the safety and security of other countries with impunity,'' the U.S. State Department said in a statement.
A spokesman at the Japanese Foreign Ministry called the launch ``extremely regrettable,'' but said it had not tried to intercept the rocket, which North Korea had warned would be seen as an act of war. The European Union also condemned the North's action.
Meanwhile, China and Russia, Pyongyang's closest allies, urged restraint in dealing with the aftermath. ``We hope relevant parties will remain calm and restrained, handle the situation properly, and together maintain peace and stability in the region,'' Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in an online statement.